Historically bowstrings have been drawn by use of the fingers on the hand of the archer. Manual release of the bowstring adversely affects the flight and accuracy of the arrow. Due to variables including lateral motion with the advent of compound hunting bows and their increased draw forces, a device must be used to draw the bowstring, in order to prevent injury to the fingers of the archer.
Bowstring release devices have been designed and developed which permit the release of the bowstring by the actuation of a trigger mechanism, thereby both minimizing the influence of the release motion and at the same time improving the accuracy of the trajectory of the arrow. To some extent these mechanical devices have eliminated the inconsistencies of the release and particularly the inconsistencies associated with a manual release.
With at least partial elimination of the variables in draw, hold and/or release of the bowstring, the accuracy of the archer may be substantially improved.
In order to prevent the introduction of erratic or inconsistent forces associated with the release action to the bowstring at the moment of release, the implementation of trigger devices with very sensitive release forces have occurred.
Also, it has been very desirable to allow the body of the bowstring release device to rotate relative to the hand and wrist of the archer for alignment with the bowstring so that only very minimal disruptive forces are transmitted to the bowstring from any position of the hand or wrist.
Due to the difference in physical stature between individuals, it has also been found to be advantageous to be able to adjust the distance between the bowstring engaging surfaces on the jaws of the bowstring release device and the hand or wrist of the archer. Adjustability in this dimension allows the individual archer to change the dimensional relationship to accommodate personal ergometric variations, such as length of the fingers and the position of the hand and wrist at the point of full draw of the bowstring prior to the moment of release.